Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Georgia

In the summer of 2011, my boyfriend and I were contacted by a friend who decided he was going to the same college as us. After spending quite some time on the phone (with him, his mother, my boyfriend, and me) we decided that it would be the best solution to our money situation at the time and because he gave the impression that he was not into partying or smoking, he said �if he didn�t live on campus, he�d be able to focus on school and not girls.�

We moved in our apartment August 15, 2011, and we have an understood agreement that we will split everything (bills and rent) into thirds. And for the first few months, things have been going accordingly. He brought over a few girls, but he always kept them inside his bedroom. But he soon began bringing over people and getting high and drunk. Then it turned into full-fledged parties. My boyfriend and I have basically been reduced to only being able to be in our bedroom because he allowed for his friends to sleep over after every party which is more than once a week and the smell of marijuana gives me headaches. We�ve told him that we weren�t comfortable with the living situation and it turned into a high fight, we are no longer on speaking terms.

Seeing as we are all underage (18-19), I get a little antsy about the police being called because even though we aren�t high or drunk, I think we would still get into trouble. Our lease is for 11 months and 28 days, and we are not allowed to sublet. I don�t want to terminate our lease, so I�ve tried to keep the management out of it and deal with it ourselves but it hasn�t worked. Is there any way that we can evict him because he�s in direct violation of the lease WITHOUT getting ourselves evicted as well? The lease clearly states that: �No portion of the apartment or apartment community shall be used by Resident, occupants, guest, invitees or licensees for any disorderly, disruptive, abusive, or unlawful purpose, nor shall they be used so as to disrupt the quiet enjoyment of any other resident or their occupants and guest.� There are plenty more violations of the lease that he�s done, but this and allowing more people to move in without adding them to the lease are the two major issues. Help?


Asked on 1/15/12, 10:00 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Scott Riddle Law Office of Scott B. Riddle, LLC

Your landlord is the party who has the right to evict, not you. The landlord won't care which of you broke the lease - all of you will be gone. Your biggest problem, which you mentioned in a single sentence, is that eventually the police will be called and you will be arrested on drug charges. Perhaps serious felonies. Every day you stay there, you are one step closer. If you think breaking a lease will harm you, think about starting adulthood with drug charges on your record. This is the risk you willingly accepted when you moved in with him. Now you need to deal with it, whether it means paying him to move, you moving and continuing to pay for your shares, or all of you making a deal with the landlord to terminate the lease pursuant to an early termination provision.

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Answered on 1/16/12, 5:23 am


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